The present invention is directed to a smooth side trailer and body structure having walls formed of interlocking extruded aluminum panels and the method of making the same. Panels are aligned vertically adjacent to one another, with at least one female receiving portion in one panel engaging at least one male portion an adjacent panel. Adjacent panels form smooth side walls of a trailer.
Dump trailers, dump bodies, tipper trailers and walking floor trailers (bulk commodity trailers/bodies), traditionally have been produced in various lengths and capacities and consist generally of a chassis formed principally of one or more I-beams and a plurality of cross frame members joining the same with ground engaging wheel assemblies located under one end of the chassis and retractable support gear situated inwardly of the other end. Dump body comprising a floor structure incorporating longitudinal and cross frame members and a floor thereon with side walls and a front end wall secured thereto. The body is pivotally mounted on the chassis adjacent to the rear end thereof and a hoist, usually hydraulically actuated, is positioned between the front end of the dump body to elevate the same. While a variety of metallic materials have been employed to fabricate dump bodies, light weight and high strength metals, such as aluminum and various alloys thereof (hereafter collectively xe2x80x9cAluminumxe2x80x9d), have become the favored manufacturing stock because they make possible production of trailers/bodies having low xe2x80x9cempty weightxe2x80x9d and optimum payload potential.
Aluminum floor, side wall and other components have been produced for dump bodies; however, such components have largely taken the form of either rolled sheet metal and/or a variety of extruded members which were solid throughout. Additionally, such dump body components have typically been joined to one another by known arc welding techniques which not only require highly skilled welding personnel and considerable quantities of energy and consumable materials, but also are less than ideally suited for Aluminum components. In addition, the walls formed by these materials and processes in order to be structurally sound did not form smooth walls. The walls typically utilize reinforcing members at spaced apart intervals along the length of the wall, forming a serrated appearance, which increases wind resistance. High wind resistance and heavy weight increases travel time and fuel consumption in use of the trailer or body.
Thus, a need exists for a trailer/body structure that, in addition to being structurally sufficient to accommodate desired loads and uses, like those sheet metal and/or extruded solid forms now commonly employed, are even lighter in weight and have smooth walls. In addition, it would be beneficial to provide such a trailer which does not require substantial amounts of support structures welded to the inside walls which take up valuable capacity. It would also be desirable to form the trailer or body to have increased capacity for use in handling larger volumes of materials where the above desired characteristics would be even more important.
The present invention provides a body structure wherein the side walls of the trailer body or body are comprised of a plurality of lightweight, high strength extruded metal components which provide smooth outer walls of the trailer body. These and other advantages are provided by a trailer comprising a top rail, a bottom rail, and a plurality of hollow, extruded wall panels positioned vertically adjacent one another wherein the plurality of hollow, extruded wall panels is secured at one end to the top rail and at the opposite end to the bottom rail. Each wall panel comprises an inside wall and an outside wall connected to each other by a first end wall, a second end wall, and at least one intermediate wall. The first end wall includes a groove that extends along the length of the panel between the top rail and the bottom rail and the second end wall includes a projection that extends along the length of the panel between the top rail and the bottom rail such that the projection of the second wall matingly engages the first wall of an adjacent wall panel. The outside walls of the plurality of wall panels form a smooth exterior trailer wall surface.
These and other advantages are also provided by a method of constructing a trailer comprising the steps of: a) providing a bottom rail having a wall engaging portion and a floor engaging portion; b) attaching the floor engaging portion to a floor of the trailer; c) providing a plurality of extruded hollow wall panels wherein each wall panel comprises an inside wall and an outside wall connected to each other by a first end wall, a second end wall, and at least one intermediate wall and the first end wall includes a groove that extends along the length of the panel and the second end wall includes a projection which that extends along the length of the panel; d) attaching the plurality of wall panels to each other by positioning the projection of the second end wall of a wall panel into the groove of the first end wall of an adjacent wall panel; e) inserting and securing the plurality of interconnected wall panels into the wall engaging portion of the bottom rail; and f) attaching a top rail over the plurality of interconnected wall panels.